New bill criminalises union activism

Union activists could face 10 years in jail under the terms of the NSW Electoral Funding Bill passed in May by both houses of State Parliament.

The bill places restrictions on the expenditure and actions of third party campaigners in the lead up to local and state government elections.

Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey addressed IEU Council on 16 June to thank the IEU for supporting a high court action to try and repeal the bill.

Morey said the bill contained some “really nasty clauses” aimed at stopping unions coming together to run actions such as the Your Rights at Work campaign of 2007.

The bill reduces the expenditure allowance for third party campaigner for the six months prior to an election campaign from $1 million to $500,000 for those registered before the election, and from $525,00 to $250,00 for those not registered before the election.

The bill makes it unlawful for third party campaigners to ‘act in concert’ with other persons to incur electoral expenditure that exceeds the cap. This rule does not apply to political parties or candidates.

They are criminalising our activism and we can’t let that go unchallenged. It’s not just bad for unions, it’s bad for all the people they represent.

Morey said such a cap would basically rule out a Sydney metropolitan media campaign. IEUA NSW/ACT Secretary John Quessy said if the IEU wanted to launch a campaign against the state government’s 2.5% wage cap for example, in concert with another union, it would reach the cap before any mainstream media work was done.

Morey said unions would not be able to collaborate on campaigns or share research

“This bill is intended to target unions. It’s attempting to silence them before the next state election.

“NSW police have powers to investigate. Unions found to be in breach of the cap have to pay it back at double the rate.”

Morey said jail sentences of up to 10 years could apply to some activists caught out by the bill.

“They are criminalising our activism and we can’t let that go unchallenged It’s not just bad for unions, it’s bad for all the people they represent.”

Morey said the high court case would be an important test case for democracy and freedom of expression.